This is a Blog for YCJUSD educators and anyone else that needs a place to vent, a place of support and a place of solidarity.

Friday, January 23, 2009

We'll Miss You Dunlap!

In a move that shocked the community and district employees, the leadership at 3rd Street announced, via an article in the News-Mirror, that they are proposing to close Dunlap Elementary and lay off large numbers of district teachers.

It is sad that the district decides to close a school that has been a fixture of this community for over fifty years without any consultation whatsoever with the parents, teachers or staff members directly involved.

8 comments:

Anonymous
said...

As a parent I am very ANGRY about this decision. I heard today it was printed in the PE before it was even announced to staff (I tried to find out if true, but have come up empty on that.) I have to wonder if someone knew about this last year, when Dunlap lost a handful teachers to Chapman Heights this year. (Along with the Principal). Now, I am concerned that my child with be shuffled to Valley or Chapman into a class with 50 kids!!!! What will happen to the established teachers at Dunlap? To say I am ANGRY is actually nice, I AM PISSED OFF!!!!! Yes, I will be at that meeting monday & the one on tuesday too!!!!!

If past history serves, then the only thing that could possibly even sway the board just a bit would be parents/community standing up and demonstrating their anger over these unjust and poorly timed decisions. The entire DO has a history of viewing staff at all schools as nothing more than worrisome dollars signs...and the fewer, the better. How is it at all possible that out of one side of their mouths they say "...we will keep cuts as far away from the classroom as possible...." and then out of the other side verbalize their intent to cut teachers?! How is that even possible when teachers are the closest to the children?! Parents...get ANGRY!! Your children and their education are at stake!! For heaven's sake...these are your hard earned tax dollars being hoarded and poorly spent! Stand up for the children of Yucaipa!

It just needs to be said that the coverage of the school board meeting in the News Mirror is LAME!!! Essentially there was no coverage & to say that I am disappointed does not cover how it makes me feel. Is the staff at the News Mirror in cahoots with YCJUSD???

Looks like Ted Alejandre left the district office just in time!!! Has anyone noticed that Yucaipa's decline as a great district in which to work and educate our kids has coincided with Sherry Kendrick's rise to power? It is also tragic that the community continues to elect Dr Sue Brown and Patty Moore/Leja/Ingram to the board as well. I hope that the newly elected board shows more backbone than Joyella and Jim O. did when they came in four years ago. Time to throw the bums out, and start fresh! This blog is probably the only print resource available to the concerned public - don't expect too much from the News-Mirror.

What was conspicuously absent in the News-Mirror article was any sense of outrage that the largest employer in Yucaipa was planning on laying off over 20% of their workforce. I don't pay for a subscription any more, I just check online.

And yes, the News-Mirror is in cahoots with the district. The N/M only prints "happy" news, and Claire-Marie Teeters decides what is "happy". Anyone know how the donation for the YHS turf project from Kivett-Teeters Realty panned out? It was supposed to be $10K/year for 10 years, starting in 2006. I wonder how many businesses left YCJUSD in the lurch when real estate tanked; most of the donations from business were from developers and realty companies. Maybe the N/M could run a story on that?

The N/M won't run any stories that put the District in a bad light, and wont' run any stories that show anything nice about the teachers' association. They refused to even print letters to the editor. The association had to buy ad space in order to get its point of view out during the last crisis.

It's unethical journalism to NEVER contact the association for its point of view on issue. Article after article is printed with quotes from S.Kendrick, and nothing from Cyndi or Patrick.